THE AUDITORIUM SUNDAY
SCHOOL CLASS
AUGUST 21ST, 2005
PREVENTING DECEPTION
I. A “spiritual” Christian has a Biblical
opinion of himself.
A. He knows that he is whatever he is by the
grace of God, (I Corinthians 15:10).
B. He glories in the Lord, not his flesh, (I
Corinthians 1:26-31).
C.
The “spiritual” Christian is the opposite of the carnal Christian:
1.
Carnal Christians have high opinions of themselves.
2.
“Mud is nothing more than dirt stuck on itself.”
3. God hates the proud look, (Proverbs 6:17).
II. The result of pride is self-deception (“he
deceiveth himself).
A.
Pride gives a man an unbiblical view of himself.
1.
The proud man thinks “himself to be something.”
2.
“when he is nothing.”
B.
Deception is the belief in something that is not true.
1.
Paul states that believing we are something is equal to deception.
2.
Believing that we are something is not trickery
from without but a form of self-deception.
III. A
spiritual Christian is concerned with his own responsibility. (4-5)
A.
His work is the focus of his attention.
B.
His satisfaction is in pleasing God with his work.
C.
His accountability is towards himself, not others.
- Verse 2 is saying that we must help others
with their problems; verse 5 is saying that we must bear our own
accountability.
IV. A responsibility to know and teach. (6)
A.
The “word” refers to the Scriptures:
1. A
teacher is one that is taught, and constantly being taught, in the Scriptures.
2.
“Him that is taught” refers to the office of teacher in Ephesians 4:11.
3.
The church has teachers in order to have men
who know the Scriptures, and continually study the Scriptures, and teach the
Scriptures to believers.
4.
“Communicate” means to share finances, not information.
B.
“In all good things” refers to the needs of ministry being met in order
for the teacher to continually grow in knowledge.
Conclusion: Self-deception is best prevented by Biblical teaching and Biblical learning.